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924 MEASUREMENT OF CRANIAL PALPATION PRESSURES USED BY PROFESSIONAL OSTEOPATHS
Author(s) -
ZegarraParodi R.,
Blot P. Chauvigny,
Rickards L.,
Naili S.,
Renard E.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
european journal of pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.305
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1532-2149
pISSN - 1090-3801
DOI - 10.1016/s1090-3801(09)60927-7
Subject(s) - osteopathic medicine in the united states , medicine , humanities , library science , alternative medicine , art , pathology , computer science
Backgrounds and Aims: To our knowledge, quantification of palpation pressures used by experienced practitioners of osteopathy in the cranial field has not been reported to date. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pressure of palpation used by professional osteopaths during a cranial test procedure, and to determine the relationship between palpation pressures and years of practice (yop) experience. Methods: 43 participants (32 men and 11 women; aged 25–65 years) were enrolled after written consent was obtained. Data on palpation pressures employed during the study were obtained using a FlexiForce tactile force sensor device which recorded a 3-seconds pressure measurement. Practitioners’ yop and percentage of daily practice employing osteopathic cranial treatment were also recorded. Results: The palpation pressures recorded throughout the study procedure ranged from 0 to 1.81N/cm, with the mean pressure of the 3-seconds tests ranging from 0.01 to 1.69N/cm. Comparison among treatment groups was carried out using non-parametric analysis of variance with the Kruskall-Wallis test, followed by Dunn’s test for multiple group comparisons. The results suggested that practitioners with >20 yop use significantly less pressure than practitioners with less than 20 yop (p =0.024). Conclusions: This study is the first to provide data on the palpation pressures used during osteopathic cranial treatment. The results suggest that the application of cranial palpation is extremely variable. Highly experienced practitioners may use less pressure and demonstrate less variation; however, a significant proportion of less experienced practitioners use comparable pressure.